The Wonderful North

The splendidly titled 'The Wonderful North’ at http://www.thewonderfulnorth.com/ is an innovative public art project created by digital media agency Numiko with Leeds-based artists Bryan and Laura Davies. The ‘Online Expo’ is a virtual art exhibition that communicates the artists’ experiences of the North gained during a month-long road trip undertaken in January 2008. The Davies toured the North; meeting the public and researching some of the regions’ popular landmarks and hidden treasures before creating the exhibition. The artists have created the ‘Expo’ to showcase their art.

The result is a series of themed virtual pavilions dedicated to ‘Geography’,‘Culture’, ‘Economy’, ‘Society’ and ‘International’, each containing 20 exhibits that convey the artists’ ideas about the things they have seen and experienced, indexing the background to their inspiration alongside the exhibits. The exhibition focuses on issues that pertain to the changing nature of everyday life in the North, such as new housing and architecture, transport infrastructure, established industries and traditions as well the current push for regeneration through cultural landmarks.

Public participation and ‘real world’ interaction are central to the Wonderful North project. The project focused on suggestions made by registered users during the road trip to guide the artists on their journey in which they met people and visited places nominated by the public.
Check out the site at http://www.thewonderfulnorth.com/